Java, Linux, Novell/MS, and Steve Ballmer

This week's NEW NET issues list has links to several articles discussing various impacts of open source on today's tech world.

There are different potential motivations for both Microsoft and Novell to have agreed to the partnership where the Linux and Windows worlds will theoretically work better together. And there are many paths which could result from the Novell/MS partnership.

However, Steve Ballmer's remarks this past week tend to point one at the darker motivations and paths. According to several sources, Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft, stated "We've had an issue, a problem that we've had to confront, and because open-source Linux does not come from a company -- Linux comes from the community -- the fact that that product uses our patented intellectual property is a problem for our shareholders."

Another open source event in the news this past week was the Sun Microsystems release of Java under the GPL license. If you're interested in how one open source issue can be interpreted by the various parties involved, read the articles and posts about the open sourcing of Java in tomorrow's post on this blog. How open source can best be implemented is an interesting topic, and depends mostly on your viewpoint. There does, however, seem to be a growing tide of agreement that open source is important and is here to stay.

*****